the goan I network
PANAJI
Government officials in the Education sector are facing an uphill task to track and compile data on students dropping out of formal schooling as laws and rules governing alternative schooling including open schools are lax on maintaining data.
Also, there is no agency in the State which specifically carries out a study to find out the exact number of school dropouts in Goa. Scrutiny of statistics of the last few years available with institutes registered with the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, reveals that on an average, some 4000-odd students drop out every year before they can complete their schooling.
But the education department officials have something else to say about these figures, claiming that with no proper registration and monitoring system for open schooling organisations it is difficult to track the student dropout rate in the State accurately.
“These figures can be misleading as a large chunk of students opt out of the formal schooling system and prefer open schooling to obtain SsCE certificate,” said a senior official in the education department.
There is also another problem associated with private organisations offering open schooling for students as there is no government control on the fees charged by such institutions.
Students who feel cheated by such organisations have no redressal authority.
One institute with an office in Panaji even offers SSC course of the CBSE board and claims 100 per-cent guarantee of passing, charging astronomical fees of around Rs 45,000.
They also offer easier subjects and sometimes exclude maths and other subjects which below average student find difficult to pass, informed an official.
